iMac or Mac Mini

[jamin100]

Here's my situation.

I currently have a 24" 2009 2.66 ghz core2duo iMac with 8GB RAM, 1TB HD and 120GB SSD in the superdrive slot.

Im looking to upgrade the machine and have settled on getting a mac mini or 27 iMac

I use my iMac to store all my itunes data to stream to my 4 apple tv's.
I encode films etc using handbrake
I do some very light VM work
I use lightroom quite a bit
I do some basic movie editing in iMovie
My current Data is around the 640GB mark

I need this machine to last me at least 4-5 years ideally if not more!
The 2 machines I'm looking at are the i7 Quad Core Mac Mini, 8GB RAM with a 24" Dell ultrasharp monitor

OR

the base spec 27" iMac with i5 quad core

The mini with upgrades and spec will cost me around £900 where as the iMac will be £1400.

I like to upgrade my machines over the years rather than replace them, so I'm looking for this to last me around the 4-5 year mark...


Which would you buy?
Any advice is appreciated

 

[iAppl3Fan]

Go for the iMac. That's pretty much what I use it for as well. It will also keep your area more clean and minimal. This is especially true if the machine is out in the open and all the wires can be seen.

 

[steve119]

Personally, if you can use the 2009 imac as a display then go for the mini, otherwise I would go for the imac, unless of course you have a good display to use with the mini.

I have the base 2012 imac, love it but am trying hard to be impartial.